Under this method, piggeries and dairies can earn Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) by developing new facilities to treat and reuse animal waste.
When to use this method
The animal effluent management method may be suitable for your business if:
- you're planning to introduce a new method of processing and treating animal waste from a piggery or dairy
- the waste would otherwise go to an anaerobic pond
- the waste will be captured by methane in a digester tank or covered pond
- you avoid methane emissions by removing volatile solids and treating them using an aerobic process.
Legislation
Before you plan or register your project, make sure you read and understand the legislative requirements and the method.
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Animal Effluent Management) Methodology Determination 2019 (the method)
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Animal Effluent Management) Methodology Determination Variation 2022
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015
Eligibility
To be eligible, your project must treat an eligible waste stream sourced from a piggery or dairy that would otherwise be disposed of in an anaerobic pond.
You must:
- use eligible material
- not have pre-existing or pre-installed facilities, unless consisting of a solids separation device which hasn't been used for 3 previous years before application and not in use since 1 January 2019
You must also meet general eligibility requirements for the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
Eligible materials
Eligible material is organic waste that would normally be treated in an anaerobic pond.
Eligible material must be produced by an eligible animal facility - a dairy or piggery.
If your organic waste isn't animal waste from an eligible animal facility, then it must meet all of the following:
- mainly consist of material of one or more listed types (see Schedule 1 - Supplement)
- not contribute more than 2% of the methane avoided or combusted by the project over the reporting period if it includes material that isn't of a listed type
- not be diverted from a facility part of an eligible offsets project related to the avoidance of methane emissions.
If the material doesn't meet the above, it's ineligible material.
If your biogas comes from a non-project source and is to be upgraded into biomethane, you should refer to our biomethane method package simple method guide.
Relevant legislation
- Section 5 of the method
- Sections 15 and 15A of the method
Exclusions
Ineligible material consists of material that isn't listed as eligible.
Ineligible material can be included in project facilities, but only in small quantities. This can be incidental amounts of feed waste and where the cost or inconvenience of separating it from the eligible material outweighs the loss of abatement credits.
Relevant legislation
- Section 16 of the method
- Section 21 of the method
Method requirements
The animal effluent management method was updated on 2 January 2022. The method was updated to:
- introduce new eligible project activities to allow projects to upgrade biogas into biomethane used as a natural gas substitute
- allow projects to claim abatement associated with producing biomethane for use that results in the destruction of waste methane, known as conversion abatement
- allow projects to claim abatement associated with producing biomethane that displaces natural gas use, known as displacement abatement.
If you have a current project under this method, you may apply to transfer to the new method through the Client Portal.
Alternatively, you can choose to stay under your method.
This method replaces:
- Destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries (closed)
- Destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries V1.1 (closed)
- Destruction of methane from piggeries using engineered biodigesters (closed)
- Destruction of methane generated from dairy manure in covered anaerobic ponds (closed)
Project activities include any of the following
- emissions destruction
- emissions avoidance
- biogas generated for biomethane
- biomethane production.
Emissions destruction
Emission destruction activities:
- generate biogas from organic effluent in an anaerobic digester, either with a covered pond or digester tank
- capture and destroy the methane component of the biogas from the organic effluent by either flaring it or generating electricity.
Emissions avoidance
Emissions avoidance activities:
- remove material that includes volatile solids (diversion of the material)
- treat the diverted material aerobically in a way that produces materially fewer total methane and nitrous oxide emissions than would be produced by treatment in an anaerobic pond (a post diversion treatment).
Biogas generation for biomethane
Biogas generation activities:
- generate biogas from organic effluent in an anaerobic digester, either with a covered pond or digester tank
- send the biogas from the organic effluent to a biogas upgrading system to be upgraded into biomethane.
Biomethane production
Biomethane production activities:
- receive biogas
- use a biogas upgrading system to produce biomethane combusted as a natural gas substitute within Australia.
Relevant legislation
- Section 16 and section 21 of the method
You may need specialist skills to carry out an animal effluent management method project. This is due to the complexity of calculations.
These skills include being a:
- registered professional engineer
- certified energy manager
- certified measurement and verification professional.
Relevant legislation
- Section 13(f) of the rule
The crediting period is determined by the project activity type.
Electricity generation
Projects that generate electricity can have up to a 7-year (84-month) crediting period.
The crediting period ends once the project enters the 85th calendar month of electricity generation.
The 84 months of electricity generation is cumulative, not consecutive.
Electricity is presumed to begin in the first crediting month and once generated in a month, generation is presumed to continue in subsequent months unless contrary evidence is provided. Electricity is considered to be generated in a month if it generates for 3 or more days in a calendar month.
No electricity generation
Projects that don't generate electricity, or flares-only, have a 12-year crediting period.
Combined activities
Projects can flare only and then generate electricity, but the crediting period ends once the project has generated electricity for 7 years (84 months).
Biomethane
Projects that produce biomethane have a crediting period of 12 years, less any time the project has previously earned ACCUs for methane destruction.
Transitioning projects
For projects transitioning from another method, the calculation of months of generation includes calendar months as part of the project’s crediting period or periods on earlier methods.
Relevant legislation
- Part 5 of the Act
- Part 3 Division 7 of the method
Abatement is calculated by finding the amount of emissions destroyed or avoided, then subtracting emissions from ineligible material and project emissions, such as from the use of fuel or electricity.
Factors that affect the abatement calculation of emissions destruction, biogas generation for biomethane, and biomethane production projects include:
- the emissions resulting from the combustion of ineligible material
- all project emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide from fuel use and electricity use resulting from undertaking the project.
Factors that affect the abatement calculation of emissions avoidance projects include:
- all project emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide from fuel use and electricity use
- methane and nitrous oxide produced as a result of the post-diversion treatment of the material.
Relevant legislation
- Section 7(a), section 69 of the Act
- Section 6 of the rule
- Part 4 of the method
You must monitor:
- variable parameters used to calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent net abatement
- equipment or devices used to determine or measure those parameters. These must be calibrated by an accredited third-party technician in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
The method sets consequences for failure to appropriately monitor certain parameters. This includes how certain parameters must be calculated where there's a non-monitored period.
Remember to also meet the general monitoring requirements of the Act.
Relevant legislation
- Part 17 of the Act
- Sections 40 to 42 of the method
For projects under this method, you must submit a quality assurance plan.
This quality assurance plan should record:
- the operation, maintenance and equipment calibration requirements of the manufacturer or installer of all project equipment
- all records of eligible material and the treatment of ineligible material
- definitions of the parameter monitored and the methods to be used
- the frequency of monitoring
- evidence of compliance with applicable laws and codes of practice in the transport of materials and operation of the project facility.
Your quality assurance plan must be submitted to us by the time you submit your first offsets report. If we're unsatisfied with the quality assurance plan, you must amend that plan as soon as practicable.
Remember to meet the general record-keeping requirements of the Act and the rule.
Relevant legislation
- Part 17 of the Act
- Part 17 of the rule
- Sections 37 to 39C of the method
You must submit project reports throughout the crediting period of your project.
Each project report must cover successive periods of no longer than 2 years. These are called reporting periods.
You must report any periods where it isn't possible to meet monitoring requirements and situations where the version of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) (Measurement) Determination 2008 isn't in force at the end of the reporting period.
In above-mentioned situation, you must report:
- the version of the NGER Measurement Determination or external source that was used when undertaking monitoring
- the dates that you used that version
- why it wasn't possible for you to use the version that was in force at the end of the reporting period.
Remember to also meet the general reporting requirements of the Act.
Relevant legislation
- Part 6 of the Act
- Part 6 of the rule
- Sections 34, 34A, and 34B of the method
We provide you with an audit schedule when your project is declared.
You must provide audit reports according to this schedule.
We schedule at least 3 audits. Extra audits can be triggered.
For more information on audit requirements, refer to our audit information.
Relevant legislation
- Part 19 of the Act
- Part 6 of the rule